Are existing owners entitled to complain when car companies launch model updates with new features?

This week, we received news that BMW Group Malaysia has quietly updated the 3 Series and X4, finally adding some much-needed safety equipment that includes autonomous emergency braking, lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring with rear cross traffic alert. We’ve criticised the company in the past for omitting these systems, so this is definitely a welcome development.

The news, however, doesn’t seem to have sat well with current owners (especially those that bought their cars right before the update), many of which have complained – both on our site and in various owner groups – that it is unfair that new buyers will get the new features but not them.

We see this sort of behaviour time and time again, whenever there’s a facelift or, as is more often the case, when a car company introduces a running update that adds features. We saw it when Mercedes-Benz Malaysia fitted Mercedes me connect to the local range, and when Proton launched its locally-assembled 2020 X70 with a lower price and extra kit. There was even a petition asking the national carmaker to install free powered tailgates for existing X70 owners, as if anything has ever come out of a Change.org petition.

But the world doesn’t work that way. Car companies, like any other for-profit company, are there to make money first and foremost, and they will always find ways to attract new customers – be that by offering discounts or updating their models. Beyond offering a warranty, aftersales services and recalls for defective parts, they aren’t beholden to existing owners.

And of course, Malaysia isn’t the only country to have regular product updates. Manufacturers around the world do it all the time, and in the United States cars are revised every year (even if there are no facelifts or full models changes) to make them more appealing in an ultra-competitive market. Yet you don’t see entitled owners complaining or making petitions there, do you?

This, then, seems to be a behaviour endemic to Malaysia, and we think it should be stopped. We don’t complain when Apple releases a new iPhone every year, so why do we do it with cars? Yes, BMW has been frustratingly behind the curve when it comes to offering active safety systems to Malaysians, but any effort to redress the balance should nevertheless be celebrated, not vilified because some customers missed out.

Bringing out your torches and pitchforks over a new feature is selfish, and it denies other customers from receiving updates that are easily implemented on the production line (and not in the service centre, which is why a retrofit package is neither practical nor cost-effective). It’s probably the reason why the Perodua Myvi has yet to receive the latest Advanced Safety Assist (ASA) 2.0, even though we’ve been told that its implementation requires only a software change, not a hardware one.

Let’s be honest here – you bought your car knowing full well what you were paying for. Those of you who purchased a 320i, a 330i or an X4 xDrive30i before this update did so accepting what the car had and didn’t have (and ignored us lambasting BMW multiple times for not fitting AEB as standard across the range), and signed away your hard-earned cash. So why are you only complaining now when these features are being added on, saying you want them too?

Besides, those that only recently purchased the vehicles would’ve received heftier discounts that probably swayed their decision, as dealers would’ve had prior knowledge of the forthcoming update (and would usually warn buyers beforehand). Surely that should be enough recompense for missing out on these features, right?

Of course, there will be those who will also complain that bringing out updates would affect the resale values of their cars, which is a fair point. But most cars are depreciating assets, anyway – if you wanted something that would hold its value better, you would’ve bought a house.

So no, the world does not revolve around you, and actual, useful product upgrades should not come to a halt just because you feel like you got the short end of the stick. Progress is progress, so rather than airing your grievances in public, just enjoy your car the way it is – you’ll have a much better time.

After trying to pursue a career in product design, Jonathan Lee decided to make the sideways jump into the world of car journalism instead. He therefore appreciates the aesthetic appeal of a car, but for him, the driving experience is still second to none.

Why cant they fit those updates earlier i mean those AEBs and other autonomous functions are pretty easy to fit. Just buy some parts, configure and thats about it. Not that easy but u get what i mean.

But yeah those who missed the updates cant be serious. You bragged for about a year to your mate how x70 is the best yadayadayada, and when they go buy a better cheaper one a year after, u felt kinda offended

Btw i am due for a change in few months. Please whatever you do bmw, do not update the 320 again.

It’s not that simple – most of these things need to be ordered when configuring the car at initial purchase. The module/wiring/software configuration is done at the factory and that file is stored in the manufacturers server. If you want to install the modules yourself, you also have to deal with the wiring, which may or may not be provided (unlikely to be these days given it’s an extra cost for the manufacturer). Even if you overcome those hurdles, the modules may need activation, and usually the only way to do that is through the dealer system eg Istar (BMW) /Vida (Volvo) /Startek info (MB)/VCDS (VAG). If your car config file doesn’t specify those options, the system won’t download software/activate the module. Even if you manage to get knock-off equipment from ebay/alibaba, the software still needs to communicate with the manufacturer’s system via the internet.

Realistically for something like AEB, multiple modules and sensors are involved and are networked through the CANBUS system or whatever iteration is being used now. It would be difficult to add this functionality without all the requisite parts. Plug and play went out in the early 2000’s. The more pressing point would be – if consumers want to add these updates and are willing to pay for them, shouldn’t the manufacturer be designing cars such that these incremental updates can be applied at a later date? Obviously within technological limitations – they can’t provide for technology that doesn’t exist now to be applied 5 years later. Car manufacturers would like us to update cars like they do with the latest iPhone, but for the vast majority, the difference in cost between the two items prevents that. Also people expect to get more than a year’s life out of a car. This extreme capitalist attitude that consumers have to keep spending vast sums of money instead of incremental spending to keep their cars up to date is part of the reason most people are driving outdated, and in some instances unsafe cars. The world doesn’t have to work this way either.

I booked the 330i in March before mco still without the AEB but due to the covid19 delay they informed me mine will then come fitted with AEB with price increase. mm..increased 5k..and I actually switch off those things other than the lane change warning in my CBU 530i because they trigger preliminary due to abundant motor zip zap in our roads causing me a heart attack when it suddenly brake to zero and release all in a second. even the adaptive cruise control I nvr use it for second time because I like to drive the car. letting it drive feel very boring. For me, I rather them adding then laser light, 360 cam or auto trunk lift. those are more practical. For those nvr have tried before, mm..those AEB still far frm perfect. half of the time they ll fail. maybe success in testing environment.

Walau-er, really? You will rather have a car that have no safety features and prefer disco lights in the car?
Seriously???
If these safety features are not important as you have elaborated, why the hell do they become compulsory in overseas?
My AEB have saved me from accidents for at least 3 times for the past 3 years!!!

Fitting an AEB system to an existing car is not as simple as you think. The wire harnesses are different and requires changing to accommodate the sensors. Even the windscreen used on a car with no AEB sensors have a different homologation requirement.

Fitting AEB or any other electronics to an existing car is not easy. It usually requires a totally different wire harness or even battery for the new sensors. The cars also have extra homologation requirement.

It’s difficult. But there are some accessory shops that can retroactively do some (not all of course) of the AEB functions. Have seen one shop do active cruise control, vacuum doors, surround view cameras even. But lane keeping assist, maybe a bit difficult to do, unless already specced from factory. But for this higher specced G20, i dont know why BMW Malaysia didn’t go all the way and do lane keep rather than just Lane Departure Warning. Cos LDW still requires to have sensors all around right? Or at least active cruise control (auto accelerate and brake). Sounds like something they will introduce in the near future?

Expecting to get retrofit parts is unreasonable but at least tell pipu u wanna update the car in so and so month lorrr. Like P1 alredi told pipu X70 CKD gonna have some updates months away from launch and yet pipu still buy CBU X70 so these owners alredi accepted there will be improvements from their cars. No hard feelings from current X70 owners unlike butthurt BMW and P2 owners. Cukur abit for the cars u have now lorrr.

They bought cars knowing full well they are being shortchanged. Now they are sore that they actually gave later buyers that have been holding out on cars missing the features?

In fact, its the impatient gits like that has slowed progress.

We held up getting a new car because cars in our price range didn’t offer the full complement of air bags and ESC. After all, is not much an upgrade if we still bought a car with 2 airbags. So we only bought the new Yaris last year when it had all the airbags and ESC as standard, passing over a full generation of the Vios and the Honda Jazz hybrid (which was the other shortlisted car).

Yes, its frustrating because those features were already available upon launch only opt-out by local distributors for them to “refresh their models as a marketing gimmick”

“They bought cars knowing full well they are being shortchanged”

People settled for less because it’s UNKNOWN how long it will take them to add the specs YOU wanted…I think the decent thing to do is a retrofit program or allow retrofitting. Losing 100k trading in really sucks.

I can understand the grief behind those complaints. The blame goes to the local distributors for not adopting a “pay as you select” type of program like the ones offered overseas. In UK and Australia for example, customers can tick the options they want and just pay accordingly. Don’t you think it is fairer that way? Why can’t our local distributors offer such a scheme?

Absolutely agree with you, Jonathan! You complain Kings & queens should have bought our Proton X70 or the Peroduas that come with all these features at waaaay cheaper price than the BMWs. Pls don’t tell me you didn’t know ..

Consumer advocacy is not strong here in Malaysia. Moreover BMW Malaysia are not concerned with a minority of people complaining as their fleet sales are the main revenue generator, and they are not fussed over certain features as they are not car enthusiasts. Thus personally I’ve avoided brands that are known to flip flop or shot hand consumers. Toyota was the worst as I remember they didn’t provide TSC for their Camry, and mind you Camry is not their basic bones car, it’s the top range in Malaysia. As for Proton’s case it is understandable cause they’ve now switched to CKD, and usually that will entail changes to features and what not. As for the BMW case, they screwed up by not taking the opportunity to provide additional safety features when they switched to CKD. I mean even a Myvi can provide AEB and BMW can’t provide? At the end of the day, we as consumers should remember all these screw ups and not let car companies take advantage of Malaysian’s ‘mudah lupa’ syndrome.

Fitting an AEB system to an existing car is not as simple as you think. The wire harnesses are different and requires changing to accommodate the sensors. Even the windscreen used on a car with no AEB sensors have a different homologation requirement.

Yes, esp if the models are coming out within 2 months. The car company should be responsible enough to share that information rather than just wanting to sell the current models which would be replaced within the 2 months.

With regards to the above, I had read all the pro and con comments. Some more interesting than others. But please do not compare apples with oranges as I feel it’s absurd and ridiculous, ie. comparing premium European cars to locally made and produced cars for the masses. Yes, it’s true for those early adopters, you lost out on the added advance driving systems but you have also gained the pleasure of being the first few owners on the road with the latest model. My previous boss was one them..haha..but I digress. I was also in a conundrum last year with regards to the g20 as I really wanted the car but it didn’t come with the advance driving features I wanted so instead I opted for the g30 and am a proud owner of it. Cheers, happy motoring, stay home & stay safe everyone!:)

This is the conservative automobile company works. Look at Tesla. Their car updates can be done by owner themselves, just leave the car online in the garage, let it do the software update work like how you update your phone apps. Even more powerful aircond blower can be done! But we are not talking about updating Model S 85D to 90D performance, equal to upgrading 335i to M3 which is impossible. We’re talking about minor updates on a same model without any hassle or major cost. It is about how a car manufacturer engineered their car. Previously lots of people lambasted Tesla for losing money, the truth is, they’re doing a revolution job which will shape how the future automobile world works, and being fair to consumer.

Interesting topic and we need to look at it from multiple angle. The title and discussion is a wee bit biased to the advantage of car manufacturers. I am a big bmw supporter and I hold on to buying a g20 due to its lack of safety kits so don’t take me wrongly. A customer is always entitled to feedback and even complaint no matter what perspective they came from. Whether those are valid complains ie manufacturer flaw, design flaw or quality flaw …or simply dissatisfaction from over promise，the thing that manufacturer need to determine is how they want to respond to it? To say that myvi refuse an update and put it squarely on car buyers is unfair and over simplistic. Commercial world operate around supply vs demand and its ability to maximise profit. Perodua must had done its analysis for profit, customer satisfaction, long term vs short term before they decided. Back to this bmw issue， I was testing g20 before cny and no the sales person did not warn me about the update and we almost conclude the deal if not for the disagreement on delivery date. Secondly I sighted the so called complain letter by few g20 owners, majority is just asking for bmw to make available the update as an upgrade option for current owner. Paultan and BMW please take a fairer perspective to this issue

Same goes to property. Those early birds owners saying it’s not fair to sell the units cheaper than they bought. Sometimes they would come in group and voiced out their dissatisfaction to the management. And some property developer actually agrees with them and raised the price, one of it being Sime Darby Property.

How did i know? My dad bought one of their condos and these early birds owners actually asked everyone who are not agree with the developer to write a letter, they would collect it and send it to the management. And it works, Sime Darby raised the price by 80k-150k and give small discounts that at the end of the day, the price would be the same as the one they bought or even higher depending on which units.

This kind of mentality are not healthy, so what if the developer wanted to lower the price? It’s a good thing so that more people are buying. For me this is ONE of the many reason why the property prices sky rocketed in Malaysia. Lots of units are still hard to sell and they keep on building another. And then came in this capitalist T20s thinking only them are eligible to buy a house cause they just have the money so that they can rent their so called early birds price house for a ridiculous rental price which most of it are unfurnished. Pathetic.

Don’t ‘KL maa, what do you expect, oh ok la that price, standard la near to lrt, what to do this area price always like this’ me cause IMHO that is a trend set by this capitalist T20s and it really need to be break. Just because you have the money doesn’t mean you are entitled to everything. Don’t be selfish, it’s still a win-win for everyone as we all know value of the most properties in Malaysia would become higher after few years, it’s still a greater investments than cars.

Why complain? Especially for luxury car owners, having the car “first” has its price. How do you quantify that privilege of being the proud owner first?
Resale value? We are talking about within a short period of time where most are unlike to sell. Few years down the road, who knows what the car market is like?
You got your car, just enjoy it the best you could… the rest of the consumer is not going to encourage BMW not to include this new feature just to satisfy a few cry babies…

“It’s probably the reason why the Perodua Myvi has yet to receive the latest Advanced Safety Assist (ASA) 2.0, even though we’ve been told that its implementation requires only a software change, not a hardware one”

No, it’s not that hard to implement at all, especially if it’s just a software update only. They can do that on the fly at service centre when the car is being serviced, just like what they did with my 1st gen Axia.

When 2nd gen Axia face-lift was introduced, engine update was included too with VVT added to the valvetrain. That’s a hardware change and sure enough it has far better performance at a wider range of engine rpm, as I have tested. Thus my 1st gen Axia feels really sluggish. But after the next service (few weeks after the 2nd gen face-lift launched) my 1st gen axia feels like it have more power at lower-end and feels different. So I’ve asked them what they did, not going into details they tell me it was just little tuning especially on engine computer side. I guess it was an ecu update then.

Not like I care so much since it was just a cheap point-A to point-B city car, also the 2nd gen face-lift also had an increase in price. But that got me question why didn’t they update their product sooner if they can (the Myvi) if it only involving software update only? It just gives me a bad impression on them.

1. Damn the so called premium cars. How could you sell cars with less safety features than those so called non premium cars. Guess you have finally forced to add those features because your cars don’t sell well anymore.
2. Damn those who bought their ‘premium cars’ knowing fully well that those cars are far from being safe and make noise now. They should not complain because no one forced them to buy those ‘premium cars’!

These car distributors (BMW Malaysia for example as mentioned in this article) basically had screwed their die-hard customers who bought their cars in the past 3 years or so – both seller and buyers(?) knowing fully well that these active safety features were already available elsewhere outside Malaysian markets. The smarter but less egotistic buyers (not the ones who mati-mati must have a BMW logo)are the ones who choose not to buy BMW. Omissions of these safety features are deal breakers. I have bought 2 SUVs in the past 4 years and didn’t even bother to go to a BMW showroom as I knew then that BMW haven’t been fair to Malaysian buyers. I guessed the car distributors were sure that die hard customers would still buy their underspecs cars. It’s when sales are affected from customers had chosen to walk away that they finally decide to response (not because they were proactive or had customers interest at heart). Such buyers who have bought then cannot complain now. Perhaps a little late in realizing how badly they have been treated. These are the guys who scoffed at the smarter ones who had bought Volvo instead of BMW.

There’s a reason why some customers opt to get the facelift or the final edition of an outgoing model so they can enjoy the full package at a good bargain. New models in Malaysia ALWAYS do not come with all the bells and whistles. Good example was with the Mazda CX5 which after a year came with many more goodies.

People who purchased the early G20 batch cars knew what they getting (or not in this case). They should have complained then, by not buying the G20. And getting a C Class, which had AEB and more (air suspension & panoramic sunroof) or the S60, which had all the safety bells, whistles, gongs, and what not. If they did, they wont be complaining now right? Plus, by buying early, you get the privilege of driving something nobody else has. That privilege is lost on the new batch with AEB. So, in the end, you win some, lose some. Just as those who are buying the new batch with AEB. But the wins and losses are swapped around.

Changes, updates, modifications are all to be expected. Got mine in june last year. I knew exactly what i was paying for when i got it.( if AEB was a priority , i’d have chosen other makes).I enjoy the ride. Along the way there will be even more changes. But in 5 years it will be time to get the 8th generation. Just like my 6th and 7th gen… i will probably be one of the 1st in line…cheers

actually the problem is the whole car retail market, overseas people are allowed to spec their cars the way they like, example a fully loaded 320i or a bare bones 330i for example…but here its take it or leave it attitude

No, that has nothing to do with it. Its natural for CKD to have limited spec options unlike those made locally in CBU plants due to economic of scale.

Even with the endless customisation, in CBU plants you could still produce at least 1000 units even for niche variants that could net you some profits. In a smaller run CKD operation, such variant could just be 1 or 2 units per year. How would they make a profit with such scale of selection from customers?

People are just being a butt, especially those wanna be ‘rich’ type. By thinking you purchase a BMW (or likes of it) doesn’t automatically elevates your status to’special or important’. YOU bought it to ‘show off’ or ‘pampering yourself’ or ‘be different’ or whatever, nobody cares.
Luxury car companies gives you the perception of being important to keep you coming back, that’s all. For those able to afford BMW or Merc or any of those luxury brands, Mine 2 cents, if don’t like the way they do business, trade in for a competitive brand and teach them a lesson. But most importantly, help us all by helping the economy chug along and stop being an cry baby. After all you are rich and can afford it, right?

This is why BMW should implement custom orders in Malaysia. Add whatever options you want and pay for what you’re getting. I believe it’s justifiable by the size of the market now. BMW happy, customer happy….

If you compare the fact that earlier G30s have no AEB when even some Peroduas have them, then you need to get your head checked. You can’t compare one feature. Do the Peroduas fitted with AEB have everything else that the G30 has? Of course not. There are so many things the sub 300k German car offers better than the sub 60k Perodua. It should not even be mentioned in one breath!

A few observations from this interesting topic and discussion
1. There are idiots born everyday, and quite a number are here. How dumb is a car buyer who buys a car purely for it’s badge and nama when other cars have much better safety features but wasn’t a luxury mark.

2. The number of people who plonk out 300k for a car is amazing in Malaysia. Statistics will show you that luxury car sales in Malaysia never go down during recession. Check numbers from 2008 until today. Perodua loses sales during recession, whole Mercedes gains sales.

3. Well, more of a suggestion. Buy used. But i think that advice is lost in people who’d buy a car purely to be “the first one seen in it” as stated by some geniuses here.

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